.
Military
WHAT IS A ‘KIT FLAG’ AND WHY DO SERVICE MEMBERS CARRY THEM?
July 26, 2023Luke Ryan
A 29-year-old Special Forces soldier pushes through an Afghan poppy field, carefully brushing aside the stalks as he travels under a night sky. His brothers-in-arms move silently behind him in a long line; the area is fraught with IEDs, and they still have a few more kilometers before they reach the target compound. Through his night vision, the soldier can see countless stars above him — more than could be seen by the naked eye. And on his back, there are a few more.
An American flag has been rolled up and secured with a couple of industrial rubber bands as well as knots of parachute cord to be safe. The red, white, and blue are tightly compacted together, attached to the Special Forces soldier’s back like it has been for his last five deployments.
There isn’t a well-defined term for this flag, but the tradition of carrying a rolled-up American flag into combat grew stronger throughout the Global War on Terror. Some call it a “kit flag” — the word “kit” being a common term for body armor.
https://coffeeordie.com/kit-flag
